my 5 month old beagle has went for my daughter 3 times he has missed her once but bit her twice, he only seems to do it when she has woken him from a sleep
he also has started growling at her if she goes near her while hes having his dinner .
wot do i do i really dont want to get rid of him.

Whilst I agree that you need to stop your puppy biting your daughter you can hardly blame him if she has woken him.  As a parent you need to teach your child that she must not wake the puppy - he needs his sleep.  You do need to teach him not to be protective over his food, you can do that by handfeeding him from the bowl but it sounds like he would like to eat his dinner in peace.  I'm sure you wouldn't be very happy if you were woken up and then had someone interupt your breakfast! 

I absolutely disagree. There is no excuse for a young dog biting a child who has woken him. We are not talking about people here, but dogs, albeit a very young dog. If you have young children in the household there will inevitably be times that sleep and meals are interrupted. This needs dealing with IMHO before it escalates. I would be very unhappy if my puppy had reacted to a child like that.

By all means seperate them at sleeping/feeding times, but watch very very carefully. The puppy should not be responding like this. It is unacceptable.

>I absolutely disagree. There is no excuse for a young dog biting a child who has woken him

In principle I tend to agree with this statement, BUT.......

If the child is in the habit of waking the pup when he sleeps and he feels that there is no-where he can get some peace when he's tired, then I think this is the inevitable result.  So it very much depends on whether the child has been taught to RESPECT the pup and not treat it like a plaything ;)

Firstly, the CHILD needs to learn that the pup needs to rest and sleep - overtired pups can and do get snappy, just like babies, but they don't cry, sometimes they will have a tantrum tho where they get really 'bitey' and overexcited ;)

Secondly, the pup needs to learn bite inhibition.  This means that the pup will not bite hard even if it does snap at anyone - and pups will snap if they have been teased ;) or if they are feeling very cranky through too much play and sheer exhaustion.

Bite Inhibition training info here

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm
and here
http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ccp51/cc/dog-training/bit-inhibition.shtml

I have made a few assumptions in my post, if they are incorrect- my apologies :)

Your child does have to learn if the puppy is sleeping them the puppy needs rest- but on the same note no matter what the puppy should not be biting- I would def nip this in the butt now- he's 5 months old so still needs sleep but not as much as a 8 week old pup needs...

I would pick up all food and teach your pup some manners- have your daughter to tell pup to sit (if pup does not sit then you enforce it doing the down with the bum as your child says it) and have your daughter put the food bowl down do not let the pup have his food until your daughter says its ok- Always make sure you are there- this way your pup will see your daughter is where food is coming from and will learn to treat her as alpha over him and not another play mate. I would allow your daughter to give pup treats but only once pup does a command like sit, down, come ect and take it nice- you can even have your daughter feed food as well. I would also pick up all toys cause if pocessive over food may be over toys as well- have your child offer a toy to play with for a bit then take toy but always offer something in return like a treat or another toy this way he see's your not just takling stuff away he learns to give things up cause in return he gets something back and won't be possesive. Always use a command word to get the toy like drop it- good pup treat or another toy.

Never leave pup and child alone ever- so many things can go wrong that you do not see and which can turn your dog mean real fast.

I have always had my children play with the dogs food when pups and they to were lil and give food, hand feed which ever cause I would not have a dog that would snap while he/she was eating- as far as Iam concerned the food is mine and only yours when I say so. I do free feed my dogs and have never had a problem with just taking their food away, be it a treat or human food my children can do the same as well, take it right out of their mouth. Yes may be boston terriers but we also had a shepherd/collie and a wolf/rotti  (R.I.P)which we all did the same with. They would be eating their food and my children would stick their hand in the bowl they would stop eating and they would grab a handful and hand feed them lol they didn't care and thats what I liked to see in my dogs.

You never said how old your daughter is-

Even for sleeping my children always woke my pups and of course I would say let them sleep and make sure they got their sleep but sometimes they would wake them and not once would they attack or growl- my kids would even crawl in the kennel with them even tho that was their bed its ours I only allow them to use it lol

I did have one boston when woken would growl and go to bite- I spent a whole day bugging him, once he fell asleep I would wait a bit then wake him cause I didn't want my children getting bit. I made a habit of holding him when he was sleeping- he started this at 4 months. After about 3 days of this he stopped cause it got to the point you couldn't even walk by him when he was sleeping. Sadly at 8 months I ended up sending him back to the breeder because I was told he had 2 testy's which he didn't and she said oooh give it time it will drop, and he had alot more problems could not breed him. I was gonna ask for some money back but she just sent my money back and I put so much time into him :( long storey- wish she would have gave me some of my money back cause he had contained teeth, tumors starting on him, unbilical herinia needed surgery ect ect at just 8 months.

Dollface, you gave all that advice without knowing how old the child is.

Please do NOT let your child feed this young dog until you know your child will be absolutely safe in doing this!

This advise is all well meaning, but you need some practical advise from someone who can see the puppy and your child and all members of the family in situ, and you need that help right NOW! 

Please call your Vet tomorrow and get a GOOD behaviourist who can salvage the situation by giving you good and practical advice on rearing child and puppy together before the puppy bites someone. And as we cannot see ths situation we cannot see if puppy is sick and tired of being pestered or pulled about, or he is a pup flexing his muscles.

Please call tomorrow.

in reply to your question my daughter is 4 and i have another one at 7 but he only does it to the 4 year old

Linda you didn't say what you are going to do. This will escalate unless you get help in your house, you really do need a good behaviourist who can assess the situation and give you some well advised, experienced guidelines to follow for puppy and children to live happily together.

Please don't take 'bits' of advise from here and there as noone can see puppy insitu with your children and how they interact. That is what is needed. Beagles, in general, have nice natures and well reared, are good family pets. This situation really needs handling well for a happy ending and there will be a happy ending with someone in your home to help. Please call your Vets for a behaviourist (some insurers will cover the cost on vets referral, but you need to see the vet first, who will examine puppy anyway, and that is advisable too)

Do let us know what you will do.

I agree with Golden Lady, Beagles are stubborn but not prone to aggression. They are though a strong pack dog and I wonder if yours has decided to put himself above your daughter? I wouldn't have been surprised if you had said this was a terrier pup but the breed indicates that you should get a good behaviourist in to knock this on the head fast. I also think it's worth asking the breeder what they think.

For now I would not allow your daughter near him while he's feeding and don't let her share her food with him-you don't want his behaviour to escalate. Try to ensure she doesn't disturb him while he's sleeping either. Wait until you get an expert in and they can show you what to do.

I personally think what I said was fine- if you read it says Do not leave child and dog unattended ever- which means she would be there when food is put down so when her daughter tells the dog to sit mother enforces it so the dog learns the child is above not under him. Mom should have dog on leash and dog at a distance not right beside her child. Her child tells the dog ok you may eat- but yes should never be left together and I said that in my post.